Task 8 - Music to my ears
Finally! A classic music inspiration task! Or is it?
Not when your host has a bit of an ego...
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As you all know I have far too many hobbies, and one of them is writing original music. I had originally planned to create a couple of short custom piano-only melodies to inspire you, but when it came time to creating them... Well... I felt uninspired. So onto plan B we go: my historical back catalogue of music, ranging from quality creations you can find on your local streaming services,
to things I was trying out when younger and
perhaps not as skilled (please be kind). There
are about 30 songs in the playlist below for
you to explore (which was a surprise to me.
I thought I had a lot less publicly available
because my 'drafts' and 'to record' folders are
overflowing with neglect!)
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For this task, you will choose one song from this back catalogue to inspire your look. Inspiration can come from the lyrics, the genre, music videos, or the feeling it evokes in your personally. Because all these songs have layers of meaning for me, this is the week I would highly recommend you explain how the song inspired you, because I don't want my personal connection to these pieces to get in the way of the vision you're trying to showcase. With that in mind, I am welcoming back nicrobbo95 to help me judge this week. She has promised to keep me honest and ensure I don't get caught up in my own unintentional bias.
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Best of luck x
Due Date:
Have you got what it takes?
LC22
Harmony: Through the Flames
Burning Out
rozuyumiko
Snawl
The Collection
I really fell for the melodic, enchanted tone of the song (particularly the first half). I ignored the pink song art and focused strictly on the music and how it made me feel. I felt light, stress free, unjudged, natural, understood. If any of that makes sense. And I translated that into this outfit: calming colours,
free flowing fabrics, and of course my curly locks because this outfit feels
extra personal.
With the title of this song, I think of the 1950's teddy girls of post war rebellion against austerity, (in short tomboy look) not only that, the colour of the vest represents me, as a bisexual. Bag represents suitcase, but make it fashion, because... why not! And scarf as necktie. Listening to the music and lyrics
are about "being heard" and having freedom and so is me as a person and
my outfit.​
alydaman
I wanted to create a futuristic, streamlined and powerful look that communicates stripped down functionality and the violence and brutality of transhumanism at the same time. So I’ve purposefully covered up any skin to push the idea of fading humanity and relegated the colours to their sections as though decided by a machine. The unnatural and structured black and white clashing with the more animalistic red represents our inevitable struggle to be free from systems and programming but it also plays with the idea that we are the ones creating this beast and the more we feed it the more it grows.
Sparkle
When the task was posted I couldn’t immediately listen to the songs, due to being in an office and having no headphones, so I went on Spotify and found the song had lyrics to accompany. Reading through the lyrics I was overcome with emotion, as it reminded me of a poem I wrote in high school about being stranded in the ocean as a metaphor for feeling alone in a sea of people. I immediately resonated with lyrics such as “all I know are the things I could have done, and because I’m at war with myself I don’t know how to run” and “the darkness closes in, engulfing all it touches. A portal to a black hole, I’m trapped in the abyss”. I envision the “abyss” as a metaphor for depression and anxiety, and I wanted to capture that feeling of the darkness consuming us, from our inability to speak, to the pain in our chests. The chains are representative of being pulled down by the ocean and feeling no escape from this eternal hell.
lidl-wayne
I chose ''Tonight'' because it was just my favourite. Such a heart gripping song, incredibly beautiful. I really can't believe you wrote it! I thought it was for sure some other song I had just never heard before. My look is inspired by the vulnerability and just the emotion I felt. It still features metal because I still have to represent my gasoline aesthetic as a designer while I mix it with your artistry. I love you so much as a friend and you're such a beautiful artistic creative soul. This task kicked ass. I was originally gonna make a gown but it didn't want to be a gown hehe
Snawl
This is Love
rozuyumiko
Rebellion
alydaman
The Birth of AI
Sparkle
Treading Water
lidl-wayne
Tonight
Nicrobbo95
Rebellion
A note from Elysse:
This week is particularly hard for me to judge, and I knew when I planned this separating my bias for how I view these songs would be a challenge – after all, I’ve basically put my soul on display by saying pick a song I’ve written and dive into that to make a look. This is in why I required explanations for your looks this week. I didn’t want my personal inspirations to get in the way of your good scores. An unintended side effect from this task is feeling a sense of awe at how you guys understood each piece. As an indie artist who makes music for fun and not for profit, I rarely get analysis or feedback on my work because the truth is it doesn’t really get listened to much if at all. This task has been an absolute pleasure to host (even though I KNOW some of that older stuff in the back catalogue is not nearly as polished as others in the playlist) and I would genuinely consider hosting the exact same task again in the future. Thank you all for taking the time to listen to these pieces and extract meaning (whether intended or not) to design your looks this week. I am in awe of everything you have all submitted. In my critiques this week, I have included some information about what these songs mean for me and how they came about. I hope you appreciate these insights just as much as I have appreciated yours. Now that I’ve given you a sappy intro though, I’ll get straight into the cut throat business of judging your designs. ;)
Critiques
Snawl aka Brad
Established Designer
Average
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 8.5/10
Fashion design: 9/10
This is Love (2022)
Elysse Janelle
Rozuyumiko aka Paowee
Up and Coming Designer
Feedback from Elysse
Design brief: 8/10
Innovation: 7/10
Fashion design: 7/10
Feedback from Nicole
Design brief: 9/10
Innovation: 6/10
Fashion design: 8/10
Average
Design brief: 8.5/10
Innovation: 6.5/10
Fashion design: 7.5/10
I hope the beginnings of this song don’t disappoint, but this song exists because there is a looped sample in the track that I wanted to use for an assignment – repatching, repeating etc. Playing around with a specific program to learn the system and fulfill the marking criteria. Most of the songs I write are also in minor keys and so I wanted to use the opportunity to create something which was a bit more positive in melodic town and create an anthem. The thing is though, I fully acknowledge I come from a place of privilege, and I live a great live. I don’t have much to complain about, which is why the lyrics to this song are frankly so wishy washy and vague. I’ve had the opening line ”Apathy will destroy us all” written in a notebook for ages and when I needed to add lyrics to this piece, that’s what I started with. I’m so glad you can extract more/better meaning from this song than I ever put into it.
I love the colour palette you have chosen for your outfit, and I’m glad you chose to add in some lighter tones because otherwise the whole design would have been weighed down by heavy colours which feel trapped, which feels antithetical to the way the music sounds (soaring, rising above oppression). Looking at your 1950’s teddy girl connection, I can see that their style stems from traditionally masculine clothing while still including elements that ensure they come across as specifically feminine. Those outfits hold power where it was not being given. I think your design has elements of this – the scarf in that lighter purple/pink hue over the vest showcase that contrast readily, but where it falls down in my opinion is adapting this outfit into a more modern style.
Rebellion is the song that I connected to the most and in my opinion you did the song justice. I appreciate that you chose to go down a historical fashion frenzy route with the teddy girls reference and it worked! I love the design of the sleeves and I think that colour blocking is a smart way to convey a rebellious attitude. I also love the juxtaposition of femininity & masculinity portrayed in this outfit! I’m not a huge fan of those trousers in this look I feel like they take away from the strong design elements happening up top. I don’t know if this is the most ambitious or technical design submission this week but I certainly appreciate your effort inspiration and vision.
Rebellion (2017)
Elysse Janelle
Feedback from Elysse
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 8/10
Fashion design: 8/10
Feedback from Nicole
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 9/10
Fashion design: 10/10
I don’t play ukulele very often. I have this gorgeous LED rainbow one, but this is only the second song I’ve written for it (and first I’ve recorded). I really liked the sound those first two chords made and how they have like a hopeful but scared sound to them. And thus this song of falling in love and having to let your guard down was born.
I love how you have interpreted the piece – your explanation sounds like things that you should get in a healthy relationship, and that is pretty cool. How you have applied this into your design works nicely too. The choice to have transparent fabrics makes it feel like you are showing pieces of yourself to the audience that would otherwise usually be hidden, evoking trust and vulnerability, while the scarf and the belt look a bit like walls put up (and slowly coming down) because you aren’t 100% sure yet. There is peace in this design. It feels balanced and centred.
I absolutely love the lightness and weightlessness of this outfit and your fabric choices definitely reflect the whimsical free spirit inspiration that you are trying to convey. The colour choices are so smart in terms of representing a calming palette and I adore the way the bottom of your dress resembles water up to your ankles. The design itself is so carefully thought out and I can see your intention and vision clearly. Your explanation for the inspiration is 100% translated within this design and it transported me to envision myself on a sandy beach & bare foot being ‘free’. I’m a little uncertain on the scarf, although it looks pretty I just feel it seems a little heavy compared to the lightness of the other materials. Overall I love this look and appreciate your eye for design.
Alydaman aka Alex
Established Designer
Average
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 9/10
Fashion design: 8.5/10
The Birth of AI (2016)
Elysse Janelle
Feedback from Elysse
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 10/10
Fashion design: 9/10
Feedback from Nicole
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 8/10
Fashion design: 8/10
The original concept for this song stemmed from the idea of authority wanting to retain control over the internet, attempting to silence those who tried to rebel to create free access to all. If the consciousness of those ‘rebels’ were converted into intelligent data however, they would become much harder to silence as they roamed the internet spreading their ideas. This song draws upon cyberpunk elements, imagining a future where we have evolved beyond being just ‘human’, instead extracting our own thoughts and converting it to data, to grow and evolve through the internet – so your transhumanism interpretation was pretty spot on! Utilising the affordances of a distributed network, the collective intelligence and ability to evolve from that could create so many different outcomes; but what are we giving up to have access to this? Even if everyone turned ‘digital’, are we still humanity? Or will we have evolved into something else entirely?
I absolutely love the way you have created panels on your outfit. It looks like something we are putting up in our construction site right now to beautify our walls – the design feels like a human added touch to an otherwise machined process. Additionally the clear visual separation with a triangular cutout between the red and the white create this really stark, graphic design. The use of black on the mask makes it feel more anonymous, de-intentifying the model from the design, which links to how AI tends to operate: a collection of sources that are pulled from with no one definitive source to credit. I will say from a design perspective though, the black feels a little heavy in comparison and I’m not sure where I sit with it, or if it would have looked better in the white. There is allusions to a fight and rebellion in the lyrics, and this outfits design feels like a visual of the oppressor the song discusses. With your justification in mind, does that mean we are the ones responsible for our own oppression? You definitely picked a song that I love thinking about with open ended questions, so I’m sorry if I’ve just left you with more questions than answers as I’ve analysed and assessed your outfit.
I want to commend you on your powerful vision for this look and i can completely understand the references to back up the inspiration. I absolutely love the fading humanity reference and love that you chose to hide all skin. For me the red jacket is an absolute hit and a stand out piece, it perfectly portrays the powerful message you wanted to achieve. I wish the outfit had a little more of a blended design element to it rather than it look like 4 separate pieces put together. Maybe if the headpiece could have connected to the jacket somehow? I love the design as a whole but I think with a little more attention to detail this would have been a showstopper.
Sparkle aka Sarah
Up and Coming Designer
Average
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 8.5/10
Fashion design: 7.5/10
Treading Water (2017)
Elysse Janelle, Jason Martin,
and Laurence Mews
Feedback from Elysse
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 8/10
Fashion design: 7.5/10
Feedback from Nicole
Design brief: 10/10
Innovation: 9/10
Fashion design: 8/10
Some of my favourite songs I’ve worked on are collaborations with other people, and this is one of them. I think I love them because I’m forced to approach the writing process in a different way to what I’m used to. This piece in particular had plucked piano strings, improvised instruments and disrupted sound waves which are things I almost certainly wouldn’t have thought about without a team to work with. I love that you focused on the lyrics of this piece because that was my largest contribution to the piece. The lyrics were inspired by the way the piano part sounded: cyclical and repetitive despite the clear build of the piece, so I tried to reflect that with contradicting statements of movement:
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Moving forward, like I’m treading water.
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Making progress, yet I’m standing still.
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Still afloat and yet I’m drowning.
The piano part also had quite a moody atmosphere, which I felt was quite sombre and serious. This inspired the spoken word part of the piece, which once again linked back to the feeling of not getting anywhere, despite attempts to progress.
I love the way you have re-interpreted the lyrics. There is definitely crossover from the original intention but you’ve taken it on and understood them in a way that is personal to you. I also think your outfit has created this link with darkness engulfing the good things through the use of the back interwoven amongst the teal. I do however wish that it wasn’t just that harsh black, but perhaps a heavy green which sat just far enough from the harsh black so that you could still see details in the clothing while still understanding that the teal is being taken over. I also love that you added movement to the design – only a small amount, but in a sense it is fitting given the lyrics of this song. To have no movement at all would have been almost criminal! I find this to be a strong link to the song overall.
I think you have such a natural eye for detail and it really shows in this outfit. I can definitely see the careful consideration you put in to every element of this design and the inspiration is beautifully translated! From a personal point of view I am obsessed with sharp lines and cut outs so the outfit was an instant hit for me through personal taste alone but also in relation to the brief. I appreciate how this design is so complex but yet still looks so simple and effortless. I don’t know if you necessarily needed the chains but I do understand the reason for them. I love your colour choices and I think you really nailed it this week.
lidl-wayne aka Filip
Established Designer
Average
Design brief: 8.75/10
Innovation: 7.25/10
Fashion design: 8.5/10
Tonight (2010)
Elysse Janelle
Feedback from Elysse
Design brief: 9.5/10
Innovation: 8.5/10
Fashion design: 10/10
Feedback from Nicole
Design brief: 8/10
Innovation: 6/10
Fashion design: 7/10
Man this one is a throwback! I wrote this song in 2010. Let the record show I had not been in a romantic relationship at the time, so this isn’t about a romantic relationship. The song draws upon the need to set boundaries for people because sometimes what you think might be helping then is actually just making the problem worse. I will note though that I was in high school at the time and thought of myself as a bit of an angsty teen, but despite this, I have to say I’m pretty impressed with this song too, so thank you for the compliments - I hadn’t really looked at this piece in years until I started preparing for this task. The little insight after the video is still pretty accurate for my creative work process: start writing, forget where I put it, clean up, get a sudden burst of inspiration, etc. Alas, I digress.
Despite forgetting largely about the song, I listen to this piece and still feel vulnerable, because this was specifically written about a friend who was threatening suicide if I didn’t love them back and that was a very hard thing to have to deal with emotionally back then. I am thankful the person is in a much better place now but this song is a mixture of guilt and uncertainty as I worked to establish those boundaries for both myself and him. For you to take vulnerability and emotion out of this song is probably an accurate interpretation. For me, you communicate this with two opposites in the look: the purples and the flowing fabrics showcase vulnerability, while the hard, unforgiving metals show a closed off wall. In a way it could also be the two outcomes of the boundaries I tried to set up: healing (which eventually was able to), or loss. Having the black hair falling over the purple shawl makes the design feel like depression is winning the fight, and the lyrics of the song also reflect that idea to me.
So, on first impressions I had a hard time trying to understand the point of view of the design. I love how you chose to do “tonight” because it’s your favourite! I personally LOVE the top half of this design but then you lose me from the waist down. The top feels so weightless and free and cleverly thought out & the trousers and squared boots combo seems a little bit of an afterthought (sorry). I appreciate your usual design elements come from your metal aesthetic and we love you for it, however for me personally on this task it didn’t connect in the way your usual work does. I wish you would have made it a gown because I’m sure it would have been nothing but spectacular. You are on to something with the top half though and I can definitely see the vision of ‘vulnerability’ within.
The Results
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alydaman - 27.5
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Snawl - 27.5
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Sparkle - 26.25
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lidl-wayne - 24.5
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Rozuyumiko - 22.5
Task 8 Rankings
While we have two people tied in first place for points, I am using my singular rank to decide the winner. Congratulations to Alex for your stunning visual interpretation of 'The Birth of AI'.
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This week we are saying goodbye to Rozuyumiko. While you have presented many great designs throughout this competition, you were outperformed this week. I hope you have thoroughly enjoyed your time on Fresh Faces and you will come back and play things like this again in the future. You have been a welcome addition to the S2 cast.
